This invention relates to telephone sets and more particularly to a compact telephone set employing a telescoping housing configuration for simple and reliable use.
There are many existing telephone sets which are available to the public and they are all different designs and shapes according to the aesthetic preferences of the user.
Basically, a telephone set must include a transmitter, a receiver and for selective communication, a dialer. As such, practical telephone sets embody other features such as two-way operation and ringing. Components employed in telephone sets have been greatly improved and presently are extremely rugged and reliable. The carbon transmitter is widely used in such sets as it is comparatively inexpensive and serves both to amplify energy and as an acoustic-electric converter. The modern telephone set also includes a number of circuits which are used for supervision. Among these are the switch hook which, among other things, closes the battery circuit when the handset of the phone is removed from the base. This powers the transmitter and actuates a relay to indicate a service request, or to connect the telephone line associated with the set to a dialing register. The functions performed by the telephone set are fairly well known in the prior art and are associated with great reliability.
There has been a desire in the prior art to provide telephone sets which tend to be smaller and more compact than the typical desk phone. These sets have the convenience of being easy to handle, have aesthetic appeal and take up a minimum amount of space.
One such instrument is designated as a Flip Phone and basically is a one piece telephone set which is connected to the operating company phone network by means of a coiled cord with modular jacks on each end. The instrument is placed on line by lifting the same up from a horizontal surface. The lifting action operates a spring activated plate which rotates outwardly from the underside of the phone set. Dialing is accomplished by depressing a keyboard (Touch Tone). Conversation is maintained by holding one's ear to the concave receiver section and speaking at the plate which is part of the rotatable assembly. Speech is reflected from the plate into a condenser microphone situated at the hinge or pivot end of the telephone set where the plate and body of the phone meet. The phone is "hung-up" or disconnected by repositioning the same on the horizontal surface, while being careful to allow the plate to fold back under the body of the phone.
The phone is quite compact but is associated with certain disadvantages which offset reliability and operation. The phone employs a cone speaker and condenser microphone as transmitting and receiving components. Such elements are more susceptible to damage during typical use than the carbon microphone and typical receiver components in present phones.
The phone requires the user to dial while the plastic foldout plate is pointed in the direction of the user and the user is required to "talk at" a plate or flat surface rather than into a perforated transmitter enclosure. This phone is extremely susceptible to false "hang-ups" as when it is put down, it is disconnected and hence, a conscious effort on the part of the user is not necessary to hang-up.
In view of these factors and others, it is seen that the operation of such an instrument is quite different from the standard telephone set and the differences are disturbing and confusing to a user.
Other prior art telephones employed a sliding arrangement where a transmitter and receiver and dialer are all located in a unitary housing. Upon sliding or extending the housing, one activated the phone to the "off-hook" status and by collapsing or returning the housing, one initiated the "on-hook" or hang-up mode.
In any event, such instruments were unreliable in that the mechanical assemblies were unstable and complicated and provided difficulty in operation and reliability due to construction techniques.
There is a need for a compact and reliable telephone set which is capable of accommodating standard phone company receiver and transmitter components, while being compact and smaller in size than conventional instruments. The instrument provides a telescopic housing which must be extended for "off-hook" operation and retracted for "on-hook" conditions. This requires a conscious effort on the user's part to place the phone in operation and is consistent with present phone subset operation. The phone, when extended in the "off-hook" mode, provides a proper mouth to ear length ratio to accommodate all users and includes an ordinary receiver and transmitter to enable one to converse using the instrument much as the handset on the conventional instrument.